Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, October 22, 2022

CONVERSATIONS....THE MEADOWS 5 Mountain Views-News Saturday, October 22, 2022 
SIERRA MADRE MEASURE HR IS ON THE 
BALLOT AS A REFERRAL IN SIERRA MADRE ON 
NOVEMBER 8, 2022. 
A "yes" vote supports changing the land use designation of the Mater Dolo-
rosa Property from 'Institutional' to 'Hillside Management.' 
A "no" vote opposes changing the land use designation of the Mater Dolorosa 
Property from 'Institutional' to 'Hillside Management.' 
CONVERSATIONS....THE MEADOWS 5 Mountain Views-News Saturday, October 22, 2022 
SIERRA MADRE MEASURE HR IS ON THE 
BALLOT AS A REFERRAL IN SIERRA MADRE ON 
NOVEMBER 8, 2022. 
A "yes" vote supports changing the land use designation of the Mater Dolo-
rosa Property from 'Institutional' to 'Hillside Management.' 
A "no" vote opposes changing the land use designation of the Mater Dolorosa 
Property from 'Institutional' to 'Hillside Management.' 
Vote YES on Measure HR to Guard Against Runaway 
Development 
There are fragile ecosystems in Sierra Madre that are in danger of being 
overrun by development. One such ecosystem is the Mater Dolorosa (mon-
astery) property and the adjacent Bailey Canyon Wilderness Park on the 
west side of town. The owners, the Passionist fathers, based in Illinois, made 
a deal with New Urban West, based in Santa Monica, to build tract housing 
on the Retreat Center’s lower 17 acres. Because the land is not zoned residen-
tial, they requested a Specific Plan that allows “The Meadows at Bailey Can-
yon” subdivision to be built on the property. All well and good, right? Well, 
not exactly. The 42 multi-million-dollar tract houses they want to build are 
up to 80% larger for a given lot size than the city’s General Plan and building 
codes allow. The vast majority will be two-story boxes, and they will be just 
10 feet apart and 15 feet from the street. Worst of all, our pro-development 
City Council actually approved the plan. 
Measure HR changes the zoning to Hillside Residential. The Mater Dolo-
rosa property is currently the only large parcel of land bordering the San 
Gabriel mountains that is not zoned Hillside Residential or Open Space, so a 
YES vote will make it consistent with Sierra Madre zoning. Measure HR pre-
serves the land as much as possible. In what is a water-scarce, high-severity 
fire zone, it keeps construction to a minimum. There can be one house built 
on every two acres – basically a few dots on the hillside. 
Vote YES on Measure HR Before They Strike AgainAs ex-mayor Capoccia described at a recent forum, the Passionists have been 
selling their properties throughout the country and around the globe. So 
far, in Sierra Madre, they are only contracting to sell half of their buildable 
property. However, based on their own ads, it’s plain to see that they plan to 
develop the entire 35 buildable acres. With a “Meadows at Bailey Canyon II” 
project built using the same housing density, they could throw up another 82 
houses for a total of 124 houses (not including ADUs and JADUs). And don’t 
think they won’t do it. Once they get their 42 houses, there’s nothing to stop 
them from demanding to be allowed another Specific Plan for another sub-
division on the remaining land. After all, they’re simply abiding by the new 
rules—their rules—and they will threaten to sue if they don’t get their way. 
An additional 84 or 124 houses in all would be an unmitigated disaster—a 
permanent blight on the landscape where mule deer herds roam. It would 
greatly increase the risk of a catastrophic wildfire, not to mention jacking 
up the pollution and traffic from more than 1500 additional vehicle trips per 
day onto Sunnyside and Carter. How would you like that kind of change to 
your neighborhood and community? 
Hillside Residential Zoning will make the Mater Dolorosa property off lim-
its to more subdivisions. Instead of an additional 84 over-sized houses on 
small lots, it would allow 8 houses on the 18 upper acres. That’s so few hous-
es that the neighbors would hardly know they’re there. Hillside Residential 
zoning would also prevent a 270,000 square-foot institution such as a school, 
which can be built there under the current zoning. 
Vote YES on Measure HR (Do It for Your Neighbors) 
From the perspective of the group of neighbors who make up Protect Sierra 
Madre, including many who wrote our General Plan, the kind of overdevel-
opment that’s in the works doesn’t belong here. 
There is no place else like Sierra Madre in Los Angeles County. Nothing else 
comes close when it comes to small-town charm. We can still prevent greed 
and short-sightedness from totally destroying a beautiful meadow, an envi-
ronmentally fragile hillside, and the peace and quiet of our neighborhoods. 
Please vote YES on Measure HR. 
For more information, visit smreferendum.com, or visit with us at Kersting 
Court from 10 am to 2 pm Saturday and Sunday (and sign our new petition 
for a referendum to stop the Meadows project). 
The Hillside zoning ordinance can be found at http://sierramadre-ca.elaws.
us/code/coor_title17_ch17.52. 
WHO DO YOU TRUST? 

You have a decision to make. No on HR or Yes on HR? 

The Meadows project was unanimously recommended by your planning commission after two years of 
hard work evaluating the project and negotiating concessions like a $5 million park, $1 million to offset 
water use, and 40 hillside acres placed in conservancy. The city council then independently evaluated 
the project and unanimously approved it, after negotiating $250,000 for the new police and fire stations. 
Your city council opposes Measure HR which will make the Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center and Stations 
of the Cross nonconforming. 

On the Yes side you have Preserve Sierra Madre, now supporting 6,500 sq. ft. mansions while, ironically, 
their Mission Statement says they support development of “appropriate scale” and that they oppose any 
Arcadia-style overdevelopment free-for-all mansionization. 

Another group, the anonymous Protect Sierra Madre, is actively promoting 6,500 sq. ft. Arcadia-style 
mansions on huge lots as the best possible thing for the city. They don’t publish their names on their 
website but we know controlling the group are the three neighbors to the Monastery who created Measure 
HR. One of those proponents worked for a developer of luxury mansions back when they were 
collecting signatures and never disclosed it. Maybe they didn’t think that relevant since they never mentioned 
to people they were signing on for building a bunch of mansions in Sierra Madre. Instead they 
said they were going to save the meadow. 

Protect Sierra Madre’s funding has been mostly through GoFundMe where half of their money was 
given anonymously until they were forced to start disclosing large donors. We don’t know who or what 
entity was behind tens of thousands of dollars in donations. A new video recently showed up on social 
media that is funded by out-of-town dark money linked to a “Citizens for Better Government” website 
that popped up a week ago. Just about everything stated in the video is false. No one at Protect Sierra 
Madre takes responsibility for the video. The person who posted it has refused to say where it came from. 

Sierra Madre Neighbors for Fairness, who partnered with New Urban West to protect the rights of the 
Passionists, provides 100% accountability for all funds received and spent. These disclosures are available 
on the city’s website. 

New Urban West is not a faceless developer. They are a small builder hand-picked by the Passionists 
because they would make a good partner for Sierra Madre. You can call Jonathan, the Meadows project 
representative, any time. They want to hear from the community and have made it clear they want a 
project the city will be proud of. 

Actions speak louder than words. New Urban West has proven their commitment to Sierra Madre 
through donations to the Sierra Madre Community Foundation in support of the Mt. Wilson Trail. 
entry gate and to the post office landscaping project. They have legally committed millions of dollars 
in concessions to the city. They will be here for years building homes, being supportive of the Master 
Dolorosa Passionists and the community. 

Who do you have more confidence in? A group of neighbors who say Not In My Back Yard, think parks 
are bad for the city, and oppose hillsides placed in conservancy, but then also want Arcadia-style mansions? 
Or do you trust your Planning Commission and elected City Council who care about the direction 
this town is headed? Vote NO on HR! 

News | Sierra Madre Neighbors for Fairnessnews@sierramadreneighborsforfairness.orgSierraMadreNeighborsforFairness.org 

CONFUSED BY MEASURE HR? 

HR WILL CHANGE THE ENTIRE MATER DOLOROSA PROPERTY ZONE 
FROM INSTITUTIONAL TO HILLSIDE RESIDENTIAL INCLUDING 
WHERE THE RETREAT CENTER IS LOCATED: 

The City Council unanimously voted NO on HR 

The Passionists are 100% against HR 

No on HR will protect the Monastery grounds 

No on HR will create a 3 acre park 

No on HR will place 40 hillside acres in conservancy 

No on HR will stop 6,500 sq. ft. Mansions 

No on HR protects the integrity of the Planning Commission 

Leading members of the community urge you to

Vote NO on HR 
Pat Alcorn, for No on HR 


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 
Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com